Changes

This semester my time has been consumed by insatiable urge to help the Caravan succeed. It has been a daunting task. Late nights, no sleep and missed deadlines have given me wrinkles and white hairs.

But it's been an experience I would not trade for the world.

I've seen my dream come true on a smaller scale. In one year my team and I have created a school paper which offers real in depth information. We did our homework, kept our ears open and tried to get all sides of the story.

Our stories have had impact and our pictures have been daring. Thanks to the help of our two star photographers and the photo journalism class, we have been able to publish a paper that not only reads well, but looks good too.

We've also learned how to adapt to the changing world around us. You may not know our website, you may not even care. However, I guarantee you within the next 2 years you will. The world is going online, and AUC is on the brink of this change. When you start to notice it, we'll have already been there.

And we've done what every good paper does. We've pissed off a whole bunch of people. Student, faculty and staff have all been infuriated by our content. We've been refused interviews and asked for pre-printed copies of our stories. Our newsroom is frequented by people asking us how we could print such a thing.

Our culture has taught us that either you say something nice or you say nothing at all. We praise, but we do not question. It has been embedded in us. Egypt has a history of being submissive. Leaders have come and gone, and until '52 we did not rule ourselves. Yet in all of this we have had a tradition of peace.

There are those who say our country will break out in violent revolutions. That one day things will hit rock bottom, and the world will see an angry and blood-thirsty lower class. I say no. I say my people are a people of peace and reasoning.

This is why having a free and impartial press is so important. Our press is littered with rubbish. Conspiracy theories, accusations and editorials fill independent and opposition papers. Government papers ignore what is actually going on and openly promote a lack of democracy.

So although we have angered our readers, we stand behind our decisions to take journalism in a new direction. We are proud of the work we have done. Our educated readers understand this is the way to a new democracy. Although our culture has been one of kind words and acceptance, we hope our work this semester has shown the value of transparency.

This is how our change will, and our peaceful change will make histroy.

Ma2lab Masri

AUC held it's official inauguration for the New Cairo campus yesterday. A lot of big names were invited including Yusra and the First Lady of Egypt. The event, like most ceremonial events, was boring. None of the students were invited, and only a select staff recieved invitations.

However, some students from the First Year Experience Program and the FYE were asked to come as ushers for the event. I have been a part of FYE for the past year and was one of their volunteers.

Our group felt honored to be chosen along with the Student Union to help out. After all, we went through the actual move. We dealt with unfinished buildings, frustrated professors and a skeleton campus all through the Fall 2008 semester. It was our right to be there, even if we were just working.

We arrived at 8 AM and worked nonstop until the awards ceremony was over at 2. Everyone seemed indifferent at the festivities. They were obviously not for us, and frankly by the end we all just wanted to get off the campus. But then one of the representitives from Editor (the PR company that helped organize the event) told us the First Lady wanted a picture with us.

Many of us, including me, thought great! At least we are getting some recognition as students of the campus. The FL is actually acknowledging that the campus doesnt run on buildings alone, but on the work of the students. Agree with the politics or not, she was our guest at the campus, and we didn't want to disappoint.

Others laughed. "Why would elhanim want a picture with us?????" they asked. "This is a trick, a hoax, a joke. Anyone who tells you different doesnt know what they are talking about."

So they went to their cars, while most of us walked from the Campus Center to the Main Portal. We stood there about fifteen minutes. Finally a caravan of golf carts came our way. After three cars of body gaurds passed, the first lady and then her son flew past us waiving and smiling.

They headed straight for the book store.

At this point all of us were just tired. It had been a long day and our feet hurt. We asked the security what was going on and they told us "She's going into the bookstore. She may decide to take a picture with you when she comes out, she may decide not to. It's up to her."

The president of the FYE had access to her cars, and walked right up to them to ask what was going on. About twenty minutes later we go the news, the First Lady decided not to take the picture. We had stood for nothing. Perhapes they just needed the students to stand and say good-bye as she exited the campus. They should have told us if that was the case.

Then again, if they did most of us would have gone home.

Being a First Lady requires class and elegance. It demands diplomacy and understanding. Unfortunately, while our FL showed that she indeed does have dignity and pride, she lacks the ability empathize with those who lack power and influence. Her actions indicate that she could care less about how she makes the little guy feel.

Then they wonder why no one really likes their family.

Worker Story continued Part 4

So my partner and I are still on the story about worker's living conditions. Yesterday we followed one of the buses to al-Hay al-'Ashir, where the camp is located.

We weren't quite sure what we were going to do with the location information once we got it. We didn't plan on entering the camps (it's too dangerous for a woman, even I'll admit that), and we couldnt send another camera in. So we figured if we know where it at least we'll have a starting point.

The camp is not really a camp. It's more an unfinished building. The workers are let off at the corner of a street, and forced to walk over hills, and jump holes to get home. There are no lights, and no roads. The building is a brick structure without windows and doors. I can't imagine the have plumbing and electricity since we didn't see any wires around. It was pitch black though, so I'm not sure. All in all the walk to the camps seemed bad enough, and is indicative of the standard of living inside the "camp".

My professor told me "the sign of a good editor is one who knows when to hold off on a story." I talked to Reham about that on our way back from the camp. It was dangerous in there. Is it worth getting hurt?

"The thing is Samcrete is going to do this to other people after the AUC project is done," said Reham. "Maybe if we do this story gets published Sami Saad won't be able to do this kind of thing to workers again."

Spoke too soon (Lessons Learned Pt. 3)

As I opened the door to Kodak, I felt my heart skip a beat. This was huge, we had exclusive footage of the workers camp. We were going to write a breaking story, and it might really make a difference in someone's life!

Imagine my shock when the main behind the counter said: "Empty."

"Empty? What's empty?" I said.

"The film, it's empty. It wasn't put in right, or someone opened it. We can't find any pictures on the film."

So it's back to the drawing board. My partner Reham and I are determined, and we are learning a lot in the process.

As my professor would say, we are "eager beavers." I just hope we aren't going on a wild goose chase.

Withdrawing

There is an air of tension at the American University in Cairo right now. Students are busy studying for their finals, preparing their final projects and presentations and scrambling to get research done.

This semester has been hectic, to say the least. Delays in lab openings and unstable internet have made it difficult for the professors. In these last few weeks professors have been attempting to make up for lost time. Everything seems to be coming at once. Many students have just given up.

According to Dr. Nayla Hamdy, more students have submitted requests to withdraw from classes this semester than any other semester. They just can't handle the stress any more and would rather repeat the class. Furthermore, she says even though the withdrawal deadline was the 26th of November, she was still signing forms yesterday (November 30th).

I wonder what President Arnold, and Provost Lisa Anderson's thoughts are on this situation. What does it say about AUC's quality of education if so many students are unable to complete the coursework? I also wonder what reasons students are giving for withdrawing. Are most students just unable to handle the pressures at the end of the semester?

Perhaps this would be a good online story......

Bad luck streak broken (Lessons Learned Pt. 2)

This semester has been difficult on everyone. I've dealt with accidents and flooding apartments on top of everything else. But today that changed, and I got the break I have been waiting for.

This morning I woke up determined to find a way to help our man. Yet, I waked onto campus with an anxious step, worried at what I might have done.

Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised.

Our worker in distress had been cleared. He filed a formal statement this morning saying the camera was his. The authorities warned him that if a camera was reported stolen, he would be responsible. He agreed, and was let go.

His supervisor met with us to tell us the good news.

"He's fine and will not be facing charges," he said.

Then he pulled out the camera, with about 20 pictures of the camp. Our mission has succeeded, our man is off the hook and we have exclusive pictures. It all worked out in the end.


But I haven't forgotten my two lessons learned.

Lessons Learned

I want to be a journalist to fight for the oppressed and make the world a better place. Things seemed to be going as planned, but this week I made a mistake that may cost a worker his job.

The workers were housed at the edge of the AUC campus earlier this semester, but they were moved to a new camp last month. One of the workers took pictures of the camp on his camera phone, and brought the issue to the Caravan newsroom.

The company has them in small rooms with no furniture, and make-shift walls. There is a bucket at the corner of the room that is their bathroom. There are about 36 people in each of these small compartments.

Reham and I planned to the camp to take pictures, get interviews and find out why these men were living in such conditions. Unfortunately for us, we weren't able to make it out to the buses on time, and so couldn't find the camp. We asked our contact what we should do and he didn't have any suggestions.

I came up with what I thought was the greatest idea ever. Why not buy a disposable camera, and have the workers take the pictures themselves? I asked the supervisor if the men were checked before they went to the camp, and he said no. I asked if it would be dangerous, and he said no.

So I bought a camera and I gave it to him. The next day Reham called me, and told me the camera had been found by security and they were accusing the worker with the camera of theft.

We then called our staff adviser for assistance, something we should have done before handing the camera over. Understandably he was not happy with the situation. You can't have someone else do your work, he told me. If you can't get into a restricted area, you can't get in.

At first I pushed back. I didn't understand the concept. I didn't plant the camera on him without his consent. He knew what he was getting himself into. However, I've spent all day thinking about it, and it actually makes perfect sense.

I am a journalist. I've chosen as a profession, and I understand that it involves taking risks at times. If I get caught, or get in an trouble because of my reporting, I will have the backing of my organization or network (as long as I keep them in the loop). However, what I did with that worker was put a burden on his shoulders that he has no protection from. He has no network, no editor and no university behind him. To his employer he's just a worker, a dispensable worker at that. To put my job in his hands was irresponsible and shortsighted.

Tomorrow I am heading over to the university to try to talk to Samsung, and see if I can rectify my mistake. I am pessimistic about our chances of getting his job back, but will be doing everything in my power to assist him.

So all in all two lessons learned:
1. Always keep your editor up to date on your reporting
2. NEVER EVER give someone else a camera or mic and say "go report on this"

I'll keep you posted on the status of the worker.